Welcome to our weekly market dashboard, ‘Markets in a Minute‘
Every Friday afternoon we publish our Markets in a Minute dashboard — a concise weekly snapshot of global markets, economic news and company headlines.
Written in plain English, it’s designed to give you a quick, high-level snap-shot of what has driven markets during the week, the key themes to be aware of, and the events to watch in the week ahead.
This week…
@ 15:58 – Friday 19th September 2025 – London.
Markets:
- FTSE 100 ~ 9,228, little changed this week. Upside from energy and miners was offset by weakness in banks and inflation worries.
- S&P 500 ~ 6,646, hovering near record highs. Gains came from optimism around Fed rate cuts, though tempered by cautious guidance from corporates.
- Nasdaq Composite ~ 22,550, supported by strength in big tech and AI, though some profit-taking took place after softer outlooks from leading firms.
- Euro Stoxx 50 ~ 5,457, slightly higher, lifted by European industrials and energy.
- Bonds: US 10-year Treasury yields eased modestly to around 4.15% after the Fed’s rate cut, while UK gilt yields held near 4.75% as inflation remained sticky.
- Commodities: Brent crude ~ $67.2, steady, with supply concerns keeping a floor under prices, while Gold ~ $3,650/oz, edging higher as investors sought safe havens amid global uncertainty and Copper ~ $4.56/lb, modestly firmer on industrial demand expectations.
- FX: GBP/USD ~ 1.35, pound slightly weaker on UK growth concerns. EUR/GBP ~ 0.87, broadly steady.
Macro:
- The US Federal Reserve cut rates by 25bps this week, the first reduction of the year, signalling a cautious start to an easing cycle.
- UK GDP was flat in July, with no month-on-month growth, underscoring the pressure on the government heading into the Autumn Budget.
- Inflation remains elevated in the UK and Europe, particularly in services and energy, constraining further near-term central bank action.
Company News:
- No major earnings releases or guidance changes this week from companies in our holdings or target list.
- Sentiment in technology names improved after the Fed cut, though caution lingered where companies flagged softer guidance.
What to keep an eye on next week:
w/c 22nd Sept
- US inflation data (including core PCE) and labour market figures will be key for Fed expectations.
- UK retail sales, inflation updates and consumer confidence data will shape the BoE outlook.
- European industrial output and manufacturing surveys may give early signals of growth trends.
Markets move constantly and the numbers in this update will change. This is a snapshot only, pulled together from a range of sources, and is meant as a quick guide rather than a precise record. It’s not investment advice and shouldn’t be used to make trading or investment decisions. If you need more accurate or specific data over a defined period, please get in touch with a member of the team who will be happy to help.
Important Information
This article is for information only and does not constitute advice or recommendation and you should not make any investment decisions based on it. The views and opinions of this article are those of Casterbridge at the time of writing and may change without notice. Any opinions should not be viewed as indicating any guarantee of return from investments managed by Casterbridge nor as advice of any nature. It is important to remember that past performance and the value of an investment, and any income from it, may go down as well as up and the investor may not get back the original amount invested.